    [Senate Hearing 114-499]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                            S. Hrg. 114-499

       OPTIONS FOR ADDRESSING THE CONTINUING LACK OF RELIABLE EMERGENCY
     MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION FOR THE ISOLATED COMMUNITY OF KING COVE, ALASKA

    =======================================================================

                                    HEARING

                                   before the

                                  COMMITTEE ON
                          ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
                              UNITED STATES SENATE

                        ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 SECOND SESSION

                                   __________

                                 APRIL 14, 2016

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                           Printed for the use of the
                   Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

                                       ______

                             U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

    21-974                         WASHINGTON : 2017
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                   COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES

     LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska, Chairman

    MARIA CANTWELL, Washington           JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming
    RON WYDEN, Oregon                    JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho
    BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont             MIKE LEE, Utah
    DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan            JEFF FLAKE, Arizona
    AL FRANKEN, Minnesota                STEVE DAINES, Montana
    JOE MANCHIN III, West Virginia       BILL CASSIDY, Louisiana
    MARTIN HEINRICH, New Mexico          CORY GARDNER, Colorado
    MAZIE K. HIRONO, Hawaii              ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
    ANGUS S. KING, Jr., Maine            JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota
    ELIZABETH WARREN, Massachusetts      LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee
                                         SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West
                                         Virginia

                                     ------

                        Colin Hayes, Staff Director
                      Patrick J. McCormick III, Chief Counsel
                       Brian Hughes, Deputy Staff Director
                  Angela Becker-Dippmann, Democratic Staff Director
                    Sam E. Fowler, Democratic Chief Counsel
                     David Brooks, Democratic General Counsel

                                C O N T E N T S

                                  ----------

                               Opening Statements

                                                                       Page
    Murkowski, Hon. Lisa, Chairman and a U.S. Senator from Alaska....     1
    Cantwell, Hon. Maria. Ranking Member and a U.S. Senator from
      Washington.....................................................    15

                                   Witnesses

    Mallott, Hon. Byron, Lieutenant Governor, State of Alaska........    17
    Mack, Hon. Stanley, Mayor, Aleutians East Borough, Alaska........    23
    Desiderio, Denise, Policy Director, National Congress of American
      Indians........................................................    36
    Trumble, Della, Spokeswoman, Agdaagux Tribal Council and King
      Cove Corporation...............................................    47
    Whiddon, Commander John, United States Coast Guard, Retired......    54
    Whittington-Evans, Nicole, Alaska Regional Director, The
      Wilderness Society.............................................    60

              Alphabetical Listing and Appendix Material Submitted

    Alaska Wilderness League, et al.:
        Letter for the Record........................................    88
    Cantwell, Hon. Maria:
        Opening Statement............................................    15
    Desiderio, Denise:
        Opening Statement............................................    36
        Written Testimony............................................    38
    Mack, Hon. Stanley:
        Opening Statement............................................    23
        Photo: 125" Crab vessel trying to dock in King Cove, Alaska..    25
        Photo: Icescape in King Cove, Alaska.........................    27
        Photo: 20" high dock in King Cove, Alaska....................    29
        Photo: Hoisting a patient in a crab pot to the top of the
          dock in King Cove, Alaska..................................    31
        Written Testimony............................................    33
        Responses to Questions for the Record........................    89
    Mallott, Hon. Byron:
        Opening Statement............................................    17
        Written Testimony............................................    20
        Response to Question for the Record..........................    88
    Manchin III, Hon. Joe:
        Statement for the Record.....................................    91
    Murkowski, Hon. Lisa:
        Opening Statement............................................     1
        Map: State of Alaska.........................................     2
        Photo: King Cove, Alaska.....................................     4
        Map: Cold Bay, Alaska indicating location of airport runway..     6
        Written Statement............................................    11
    Trumble, Della:
        Opening Statement............................................    47
        Photo: Pen Air plane that crash landed in King Cove, Alaska..    49
        Written Testimony............................................    51
    Whiddon, Commander John:
        Opening Statement............................................    54
        Written Testimony............................................    57
        Responses to Questions for the Record........................    90
    Whittington-Evans, Nicole:
        Opening Statement............................................    60
        Written Testimony............................................    62

       OPTIONS FOR ADDRESSING THE CONTINUING LACK OF RELIABLE EMERGENCY
     MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION FOR THE ISOLATED COMMUNITY OF KING COVE, ALASKA

                                  ----------

                            THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2016

                                           U.S. Senate,
                     Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
                                                        Washington, DC.
        The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:08 a.m. in Room
    SD-366, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Lisa Murkowski,
    Chairman of the Committee, presiding.

      OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. LISA MURKOWSKI, U.S. SENATOR FROM
                                 ALASKA

        The Chairman. Good morning, everyone. The Committee will
    come to order so we can consider an issue that is, I think it
    is fair to say, near and dear to this Senator's heart and an
    issue that is very important and critical to, not only the
    people of King Cove, but many throughout the State of Alaska.
        Today we are going to be taking up the matter of the
    continuing lack of reliable emergency medical transportation
    for the community of King Cove, Alaska and how we can work
    together to protect the health and safety of these people.
        For those who are not familiar with King Cove, I would ask
    that the Alaska map be held up for a second, just for
    situational awareness. Bring it over here, please.
        [The information referred to follows:]

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Okay, so you have the community of Anchorage that is
    sitting right here. King Cove sits right here, at the end of
    the peninsula, just at the beginning of the Aleutian Islands.
    King Cove is situated about 625 miles southwest of Anchorage,
    to put it into context. It is about 250 miles from Kodiak where
    our Coast Guard air station is located.
        When you think about proximity, 625 miles is one way to
    look at it, but given that there are no roads that connect it
    to anywhere else, the way that you get to somewhere else is to
    fly. However, the cost of a roundtrip ticket to Anchorage is
    $1,036, so if you are going to town, which is how we refer to
    Anchorage, for medical treatment or for groceries or whatever
    the need may be, it is a $1,036 round trip ticket. King Cove is
    far away, isolated, and expensive.
        Eighty-five percent of the King Cove residents are Alaska
    Native, Aleut, members of the Federally-recognized Agdaagux. I
    always mispronounce that Della, so you will have to correct me,
    but as I mentioned, as with so many of our communities, it is
    reachable only by plane or by boat.
        It is a beautiful place, and I want to show a few pictures
    now, just to put the community in context.
        [The information referred to follows:]

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        It is actually the same as we have over here, but as you
    can see, it is located right at sea level there, surrounded by
    two volcanic mountains. You approach the community of King Cove
    from the water side, but you come into a funnel situation with
    high mountains on both sides of you. It is incredibly scenic on
    a beautiful day, as you can see in the picture, but the region
    is prone to quickly moving weather, high winds, low clouds,
    dense fog, and other conditions that can make flying and
    boating extremely dangerous.
        Planes can land at King Cove's gravel airstrip. It is a
    3,500 foot strip, so only small planes can come in and out.
    However, as these small planes come in, they are dealing with
    low visibility, strong turbulence, as the wind comes down off
    the top of the mountain, literally pushing an aircraft down,
    and notorious gale force cross winds. And that is just in the
    air.
        If you are on the sea, mariners can be looking at extremely
    inhospitable conditions, such as 12-foot-high seas.
        If you are a local resident, most of the time you do not
    have any desire to be flying when these weather conditions are
    so ugly and severe, but there are times when you cannot avoid
    traveling. When you have a medical emergency, you have no
    choice but to try to get to a hospital, and that hospital would
    be located in Anchorage.
        There is a clinic in King Cove, and they do a phenomenal
    job, I might add. However, there are certain things that you
    cannot do in a clinic. There is not an anesthesiologist
    anywhere in the region; therefore, if you are a trauma victim,
    or if you are a woman in early stages of labor, or if you have
    any major illness, the clinic is not where you can receive the
    care you need. So what do you do?
        Well, the first step is to transport those who are sick or
    injured or in need of other medical care to the community of
    Cold Bay. You say, wait a minute, you just said transport them
    to Anchorage. Well, Anchorage is 625 miles away. The way to get
    them to safety is to take them to Cold Bay, where there is a
    10,000-plus foot runway, one of the longest runways in the
    State of Alaska, which is located just across the bay. So you
    have King Cove that sits down here, and across the bay is Cold
    Bay, where you have your 10,000-plus foot runway.
        [The information referred to follows:]

       [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        This is not only a runway that is accessible with better
    weather conditions. When I say that the weather is down in King
    Cove, it is down in King Cove over one-third of the year. Not
    that there is just bad weather, but the airport is not
    accessible. Over 100 days a year the King Cove airport is not
    accessible.
        The alternative in Cold Bay, just across the bay, it is
    much less. It is only around ten days a year that their airport
    is shut down and the runway is inaccessible, making it so
    dramatically, dramatically different in terms of its access.
        Since the 1940s the Alaska Native people of King Cove have
    sought safe, reliable access to reach Cold Bay during medical
    emergencies. Cold Bay is a community that came about in World
    War II for air traffic in and out as we accessed the Aleutians.
    It was literally built for its airport. Today, there are less
    than 100 people that live in Cold Bay; they are mostly Federal
    or State employees.
        The community of King Cove, a community of close to 1,000
    people, somewhere between 900 and 1,000 people, has been there
    for maybe 4,000 years or so. King Cove is where the native
    people have been for a millennia.
        So again, as we are searching for those avenues to provide
    for a safe route to medical care or just to access the rest of
    the state, the answer is not to build a longer runway in King
    Cove. You will still be faced with the geography and the
    weather around you. A longer runway would simply expose both
    pilots and their passengers to some of the worst flying
    conditions in the country, and I think you will hear some of
    that testimony this morning.
        The answer is not to buy a large ferry and construct new
    docks at both King Cove and Cold Bay because it is not
    appropriate to expect injured patients and their doctors to
    suffer through a multi-hour long trip in rough seas or perhaps
    to be shut out by the ice that comes into the bay. The answer
    is not a new helicopter, which would be too dangerous to fly in
    most conditions and too expensive to operate. The answer is
    also not a hovercraft. This has been tried, and it has failed.
    It could not operate when needed most when the weather was most
    foul and simply cost too much to maintain. Lastly, the answer
    is not the U.S. Coast Guard. As much as we love and support our
    Coast Guard, being a medevac to a community is not part of
    their overall mission, although they will come when called, and
    they have.
        You will again hear testimony to that fact that we continue
    to have our Coast Guard men and women put their lives on the
    line and do so willingly, but these rescues are not part of
    their core mission and are not safe for anyone. They are also
    enormously expensive for the U.S. taxpayer. When the Coast
    Guard has to come in for a medevac, it can be $200,000 to
    250,000, which is not an efficient use of taxpayer dollars.
        The right answer is to do what virtually every other
    community in America would do, and that is to build a simple,
    lifesaving road, a connector road. In this case, it is building
    an 11-mile, one lane, gravel, non-commercial use road. I say
    that so many times, I can say it in my sleep--an 11 mile, one
    lane, gravel, non-commercial use road to connect the existing
    road from King Cove through the Izembek area to the connector
    road that allows access into Cold Bay.
        We already have about 19 miles of existing roads that have
    been built outside King Cove and Cold Bay. You will often hear
    that the area within the refuge is untrammeled wilderness.
    Well, it may have been untrammeled wilderness prior to World
    War II, but during the war, there were roads built. There are
    over 50 miles of roads that are contained within the refuge
    area currently. Currently.
        You might ask if those roads are being used at all? Well,
    they are being used by our Fish and Wildlife folks, and they
    are being used by hunters. So the question is, why haven't we
    been able to get this simple road built?
        The reason is that we cannot get permission from our own
    Federal Government to do so because this lifesaving road will
    cross a small corner of the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge
    that is designated as Federal wilderness; however, we have
    routinely allowed for what they call ``cherry stem'' roads to
    enable transit to move through these wilderness areas. We have
    done it before. The only difference here is that cherry
    stemming would actually cure an injustice, which is keeping
    these people from accessing Cold Bay, rather than preventing
    one, as we often try to do when we are designating wilderness.
        We have, within this Committee, passed legislation, which
    was overwhelmingly approved by Congress. President Obama signed
    it into law back in 2009, and it would have allowed the
    Department of Interior to approve a road for King Cove.
        At a 300 to 1 exchange, it was not the best deal for the
    State of Alaska or for the people of King Cove. The Federal
    Government was going to get 300 times more than the State of
    Alaska was giving up. To obtain this road, the native people
    were willing to give up a portion of their lands that they
    received in a settlement under ANCSA. The exchange was going to
    be 206 acres that we would need for the corridor in exchange
    for 61,000 acres of state lands and native lands; however, 300
    to 1 was still not good enough, and Secretary Jewell rejected
    that offer. She did so on the day before Christmas Eve. I do
    not forget that Christmas.
        She decided that using just .07 percent of the refuge as a
    cherry stem to help save the lives of people who live there,
    while simultaneously expanding the refuge by tens of thousands
    of acres somehow was not worth it. It just was not worth it,
    she said.
        She traveled out with me to King Cove, and she listened to
    the people of King Cove. I was there and I heard the exchanges
    back and forth. I heard what the people said to her. I heard
    what the children said at the school assembly when they told
    her they were frightened to fly because their auntie had died
    or their grandma had died or they had a neighbor who had been
    in a crash.
        The Secretary stated that she had listened to their
    stories, but she also needed to listen to the animals. That is
    what drives me with this because we have a responsibility to
    the people that we represent. We have a responsibility for the
    land as well, a responsibility we do not take lightly, but
    think about the people that live out there. You will hear
    testimony from Stanley Mack and Della Trumble whose families
    have lived there forever. Ask them about how they care for the
    land, how they care for the animals, and how they have been
    stewards, as the Aleut people, of the land. I am not too
    worried about making sure the animals are taken care of because
    I know that the native people have done that for generations.
        The other irony here is, again, this decision was made
    despite the fact that there are roads existing within the
    refuge. They have been there since World War II, and no lasting
    impacts on any species that lives there has occurred as a
    consequence of those roads.
        Additionaly, if the decision was made to protect the birds,
    it is a little bit ironic that on Fish and Wildlife's website
    they boast about the recreational hunting for the area's water
    fowl. The Brant that we are supposedly protecting are also
    available for hunting. It is one of those issues that you look
    at and you say there are so many ironies here that it just is
    not right.
        This decision was made despite the fact that there are
    already countless roads in refuges across the country. The
    State of Alaska has pointed out that we have roads in refuges
    in Florida, Maryland, Texas, Louisiana, North Carolina,
    Arizona, Montana, Missouri, Illinois, New Mexico, Nevada and
    Washington; so this is not unprecedented.
        Again, you will hear testimony from the folks here today
    that Interior's decision ignored the fact that human lives have
    been lost in King Cove. Nineteen people have died since 1980,
    either in plane crashes or because the sick and injured could
    not get out in time.
        The decision that Interior has made is cynical and callous.
    It devastated the people of King Cove, who truly believed that
    help was finally on its way. It shattered the trust
    responsibility that the Federal Government is supposed to have
    to our nation's native people. It has left the people of King
    Cove in essentially the same position that they have been for
    decades, which is at the mercy of the elements, left to suffer
    pain, anxiety and sometimes even death in the event of a
    medical emergency.
        King Cove has now seen 42 medevacs since the Secretary
    rejected this proposal back in December of 2013. The U.S. Coast
    Guard has been called in on 16 of those medevacs, risking the
    lives of their crew and others, and patients have suffered
    terrible pain and trauma. There was a man, a fisherman, who
    dislocated both hips when a 600-pound crab pot fell on him. We
    have seen elderly residents who have struggled with internal
    bleeding or sepsis or heart attacks and an infant boy who could
    not breathe. The stories just go on and on and on.
        We are holding this hearing this morning to ensure that the
    people of King Cove finally have an opportunity to again state
    their case on the record as to why they need reliable access to
    emergency medical transportation, something that virtually
    every other American community has without ever stopping to
    think how important, how valuable it is.
        I will remind people, King Cove is a long, long way away,
    and most people in this country will never have an opportunity
    to go there. However, as remote as they are, as far away as
    they are, and as small as this community is, it is still an
    American community, and they are not asking for much.
        This is an opportunity to hear directly from those in need,
    to let them make their case in their own words to those who
    hold the power to help them. While we will be respectful of
    everyone's viewpoint expressed today, it is clear that the best
    answer, the only answer, the answer that should have been
    chosen a long time ago, is a lifesaving road.
        For the people of King Cove, this issue has gone on for
    decades. It may be new to some colleagues here, and I thank you
    for listening and for your concern. I think you would share my
    concern if people in your states were faced with an issue such
    as this, despite the presence of an alternative. You will hear
    the argument that well, Alaska is difficult. There is weather
    all over and stuff happens, and because it happens in other
    places, King Cove should be no different. However, the
    difference with King Cove is that there is an answer that lies
    just miles away, one of the longest runways in the State of
    Alaska, and they can get there if they have an 11-mile
    connector road. That is the difference between the situation in
    King Cove and some of the other places where it is tough. I am
    not going to sit back and just hope that we do not have any
    more emergencies during bad weather because hope is not a
    policy. I am going to make sure that the people of King Cove
    are heard.
        So again, I thank you for enduring my longer opening
    statement. As you can tell, when it comes to helping protect
    human lives and preventing needless human suffering, I am going
    to do what I can.
        With that, I will ask my colleague, Senator Cantwell, to
    make her comments. I appreciate her being here this morning.
    Thank you.
        [The prepared statement of Chairman Murkowski follows:]

      [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

     STATEMENT OF HON. MARIA CANTWELL, U.S. SENATOR FROM WASHINGTON

        Senator Cantwell. Well thank you, Madam Chair. I welcome
    the witnesses here today, including your Lieutenant Governor
    and many of the people I've seen in Alaska. My best wishes to
    the Governor of Alaska, and I would like to thank him for this
    sweatshirt from Cantwell, Alaska, which I mentioned I want to
    visit someday, so thank you so much for that.
        I know this question is something the Chairman has felt
    strongly about, and I know this issue has been debated for many
    years. It is the subject of longstanding concern, and I think
    that's why so many of you are here today.
        Over the years a number of options have been proposed for
    addressing the health and safety of King Cove's population, as
    the Chairwoman mentioned, including a hovercraft, new marine
    transport, an aluminum landing craft, a passenger ferry,
    upgrading the medical clinics, upgrading the airstrip,
    providing a heliport, and of course, most of the attention has
    been focused on building a road through the National Wildlife
    Refuge.
        Some of these proposals have received federal attention,
    including the $37 million that was appropriated in 1999 for a
    number of upgrades, including a hovercraft which has been
    discontinued, road construction for King Cove to a new dock
    facility, improvements to the airstrip and significant upgrades
    to the medical clinic. All of the transportation options have
    drawbacks, and all involve significant funding requirements, so
    I think the record is clear that there are no simple solutions
    here for addressing the real issues at King Cove.
        When a land exchange in the National Wildlife Refuge was
    first proposed several years ago as a means of allowing
    construction of the road through the refuge, there was
    considerable debate about the relative environmental importance
    of the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge and the effect the road
    would have on the wildlife population and the wilderness
    character of the area.
        In an effort to better understand the significance and
    potential effects of a road, Congress passed the Omnibus Public
    Lands bill in 2009 which authorized the Secretary of the
    Interior to enter into a land exchange that would have allowed
    for construction of a non-commercial gravel road through the
    refuge, but only if the Secretary of the Interior first
    conducted an environmental review and determined that the
    exchange would be in the public's interest.
        After a four-year process of developing the environmental
    impact record for the proposed exchange, a process begun with
    the former Secretary Salazar was completed by Secretary Jewell.
    The Department of the Interior issued a record of decision in
    December 2013. The Interior Department's environmental impact
    statement found that the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge is
    globally significant and that the landscape supports an
    abundance and diversity of wildlife resources. I'm sure we're
    going to hear about that from Ms. Evans today.
        That wildlife is unique to the refuge, and years of
    analysis shows us that it would be irretrievably damaged by
    construction and operation of the proposed road. The record of
    decision noted that the refuge provides invaluable and
    potentially irreplaceable nesting and feeding areas for shore
    birds and water fowl, including important habitat for 98
    percent of the world's Pacific Black Brant population and the
    only non-migratory population of Tundra Swans in the world.
        The record of decision also noted that the Interior
    Department would continue to work with the State of Alaska and
    local officials on viable alternatives to the road to ensure
    continued transportion improvements for the residents of King
    Cove.
        Last year, the Army Corps of Engineers issued a report
    assessing non-road alternatives for emergency access, including
    the use of ice-capable marine vessels, airport upgrades, and
    the development of a heliport. I understand that many in the
    local community do not support these proposals. I'm sure we are
    going to hear these concerns as part of our discussion, but
    hopefully this report furthers our discussion about possible
    options. That is why I think we're here today.
        We have a panel of witnesses, most of whom traveled a long
    way to come testify, so I look forward to hearing their
    testimony and talking about various transportation options
    during this morning's hearing.
        And with that, I thank the Chairwoman for the hearing.
        The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Cantwell.
        Let's begin the panel here this morning. I recognize that
    we have a vote scheduled at 10:30, so it is my intent to try to
    compress everything so that we can conclude this hearing by
    10:30 or in about an hour.
        The panel will be led off this morning by the Honorable
    Byron Mallott, Lieutenant Governor for the State of Alaska.
    Lieutenant Governor, I so appreciate you making the long trek.
    I know you just came in last night and it is a quick turnaround
    for you, so the fact that you have traveled to join us here
    this morning on behalf of the Governor and the State of Alaska
    is greatly appreciated.
        After the Lieutenant Governor speaks, we will hear from the
    Honorable Stanley Mack, who is the Mayor of the Aleutians East
    Borough, the borough where King Cove sits, and a longtime
    leader within the region.
        He will be followed by Denise Desiderio, who is the Policy
    and Legislative Director for the National Congress of American
    Indians and has been long active and very helpful on this issue
    and many others.
        Della Trumble is also with us today. Della is no stranger
    to the community or to the Committee as she has been here in
    the past. I appreciate you making this long trip. Della is on
    the Agdaagux, and I am going to have you correct me with the
    pronunciation, Tribal Council and King Cove Corporation. Thank
    you, Della, for being here.
        Next we will hear testimony from Commander John Whiddon,
    who is retired from the United States Coast Guard. We thank you
    for your service and for being here this morning.
        We also have Nicole Whittington-Evans, who is the Alaska
    Regional Director of The Wilderness Society. Thank you for
    joining us as well.
        With that, Lieutenant Governor, you can lead the panel off.
    And again, thank you.

    STATEMENT OF HON. BYRON MALLOTT, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, STATE OF
                                 ALASKA

        Mr. Mallott. Thank you very much, Senator Murkowski,
    Senator Cantwell, members of the Committee. I have a reading
    copy here. We have submitted testimony for the record, but I'm
    not going to follow it.
        Stanley Mack and I went to school together during the days
    of required boarding school attendance in Alaska by Alaska's
    native children. We still call ourselves kids when we spend
    time together. He went to Mount Edgecumbe. I went to Sheldon
    Jackson.
        Sheldon Jackson was a Presbyterian boarding school. Mount
    Edgecumbe was a government boarding school. We kid one another
    that one of the things we at Sheldon Jackson had to do was to
    pray for those heathens at Mount Edgecumbe in order to make
    sure that they would lead good lives. And of course, if Stanley
    Mack is any example, they certainly have done that.
        I was at breakfast this morning at my hotel. A group of
    Wyoming ranchers were at that hotel, and we had a brief
    breakfast conversation. To sum it up, they could have given my
    testimony here, and I could have given theirs at their event
    somewhere else in the Capitol.
        First of all, I want to be very clear that the State of
    Alaska supports the road, that it was a party to the trade. It
    has been involved in every effort to be responsive to the need
    for the road and the reasons therefore and will continue to
    maintain that urgent support.
        I want to talk a little bit about what is contained in my
    testimony. I grew up, was born and raised, in the small village
    of Yakutat on the Gulf Coast of Alaska. As opposed to King
    Cove, we were blessed during World War II with the construction
    of an all-weather airport within very close driving distance to
    our town, and we remain blessed today. Yakutat is, I believe,
    the smallest municipality in the United States that has full
    size jet aircraft service every single day. We do not take it
    for granted. We still, every day, thank God for that reality.
    We are among a very few communities in Alaska so blessed.
        King Cove, and my son spent a summer out there working for
    the Bureau of Indian Affairs, is a place that requires that
    road, without question.
        I want to talk a little bit about my growing up in Yakutat.
    We are, on one side, surrounded by Glacier Bay National Park,
    on the other, by the Wrangell St. Elias National Park. We are
    also within the Tongass National Forest.
        The leadership in my community was among those that fought
    hard for the creation of many of the federal land
    classifications in our state. We did it with the clear
    assurance, at the time, that our way of life would be
    protected, and that we, as residents of the forest, being
    surrounded by these federal land classifications, would have
    our way of life protected.
        We fought hard to create what are now routinely called in
    the Act preserves within those federal classifications. The
    preserves were those areas in which local people could continue
    to practice their lifestyles, could continue to have access to
    resources that had sustained them for thousands of years, in
    most instances for local native peoples, but also to allow an
    emerging Alaskan lifestyle that embraced anyone who came to our
    communities and wanted to make a life. Those preserves
    contained hunting camps, fishing camps, and, in some instances,
    grandfathered small commercial operations.
        Today, they're all gone after explicit promises that they
    would be maintained. They're all gone in the public policy
    rationale of these preserves. These national classifications
    are required to meet the needs of all Americans. They are
    required to meet the continuing need for habitat of species.
    They are required for their intrinsic value to our nation for
    all of the reasons that we typically know, and we agree with
    that. We agree with that 100 percent, but one of the things
    that I found, Senator, in my entire life in Alaska, my entire
    working life in Alaska of almost now 50 plus years, it is very
    easy to forget human beings.
        In dealing with issues in the Tongass National Forest, that
    the easiest way to create a public policy recognition, to
    create a public policy tenant that something is in the national
    interest is to completely ignore the local human interest. And
    we live there. We die there. Our bones, our ancestral home for
    thousands of years, are in that place. Our reality is often
    completely ignored, and other proxies for the national interest
    are posed.
        We don't talk about the Tongass National Forest anymore as
    a place for jobs, as a place for economic opportunity for those
    who live there. We talk about the Tongass National Forest in
    the context of salmon. We reduce or we take away the human face
    of a place.
        In this nation, in order to preserve the beauty of our land
    which we in Alaska, which we who live there, which we who know
    it intimately, wish to maintain also. In order to preserve
    something that is called the greater good our lives are
    minimized, marginalized and in many ways, consciously,
    consciously, determined to be unimportant to the point where we
    become faceless. We are ignored by establishing something else
    as the critical factor in the importance of that place. That's
    the case in King Cove. It's the case in my community. It's the
    case across Alaska.
        We have to, somehow, create the dialogue, create a
    circumstance in which the face, the voice, the reality of the
    existence and the desire, the aspiration of Alaska's people on
    their own lands become an essential element of the public
    policy debate about the utilization and future of public lands
    in Alaska. It is that simple.
        So others will tell you about the details. You have
    articulated them, Senator, so eloquently. I'm sorry I moved
    away from the details of the discussion that we're having here.
        I also want to state, just very quickly, that I've seen the
    healing power of the land. We have in my community places where
    50 years ago, 60 years ago, even in my lifetime, places are
    built and go away and the land reclaims. And those that were
    displaced are back.
        The notion that somehow the land is so extremely fragile,
    so incapable of healing itself, the arrogance that somehow we
    have to make judgements about the reality of the lives and the
    strength of the existence of plants and animals, that they are
    so fragile that they never recover, that they never
    accommodate. We live it every single day. We see that
    accommodation. We see that change.
        Certainly we need appropriate and timely public policy to
    frame our ability to manage Alaska's lands and other lands, but
    we also need to recognize that we are as important on this land
    as anything else. We probably are the most fragile, the least
    capable of being able to accommodate the kinds of changes that
    are before us without the assistance of the Federal Government,
    the Congress of the United States and the work of the State of
    Alaska on our behalf.
        The point I want to make is that, particularly, those who
    live in rural and remote Alaska, that those living, breathing
    human beings, who have been there for generations and those who
    have arrived yesterday and choose to live and desire to live
    for continuing generations, that their reality, their
    importance, their aspirations, their desire for their ability
    to live on that land, needs somehow to be recognized and
    brought into a proper balance that does not exist today.
        Thank you.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Mallott follows:]

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        The Chairman. Thank you, Lieutenant Governor, this is why
    we are here today, to give a voice to these people.
        Thank you.
        Mayor Mack, welcome.

    STATEMENT OF HON. STANLEY MACK, MAYOR, ALEUTIANS EAST BOROUGH,
                                 ALASKA

        Mr. Mack. Good morning, Senator and Chairman Murkowski and
    members of the Committee. My name is Stanley Mack, and I'm an
    Aleut. I was born and raised in King Cove. I've been the Mayor
    of the Aleutians East Borough for the last 14 years.
        King Cove is the second largest community in the borough
    with a population of 900. It's my privilege and responsibility
    this morning to address this Committee on behalf of all of King
    Cove and the Aleutians East residents and to say thank you,
    Senator Murkowski, for being such an incredible champion on
    this issue and this cause.
        Simply stated, the residents of King Cove continue to
    desperately need a dependable, safe and affordable means of
    transportation access to Cold Bay airport which is our lifeline
    to the outside world, particularly for medical and health
    needs. The only logical form of transportation access is a one
    lane, 11-mile, gravel road that will connect King Cove to the
    Cold Bay airport.
        Those of you who don't know, Cold Bay's airport is an
    anomaly in rural Alaska. It's an all-weather airport, as the
    Senator has spoken about, having a ten-foot main runway, a
    6,500-foot cross wind runway. It was built by the U.S. military
    as the one in Yakutat in 1942 as part of the Aleutian campaign
    in World War II. It's one of the most accessible all-weather
    airports in Alaska and open on a 24/7 basis 365 days a year.
        Contrast this airport to the King Cove airstrip which is 18
    air miles away and has a 3,000 foot gravel runway available
    only during the daylight hours.
        The King Cove airstrip, and I use the term airstrip because
    that's all it is, is precariously located between two mountain
    peaks. And as you can see the peaks that we have to fly through
    here on some of the pictures. Flights are subject to extreme
    weather including turbulence throughout the year, high winds,
    thick fog and snow squalls resulting in cancellations or delays
    of flights for 100 days a year.
        Many King Cove residents have a fear of flying because of
    these conditions. We'll show you pictures of reasons why. Our
    weather is some of the most treacherous in the world with 15
    foot seas in winter and winds well over 50 miles an hour
    throughout most of the year. We're known as the place where
    storms are born.
        We tried to make the hovercraft work which is going to be a
    topic of discussion, I'm sure, to link King Cove and Cold Bay,
    but after three hours of operations we realized our weather and
    operational problems and a required annual subsidy of more than
    a million dollars made it an unacceptable option. As the
    Borough Mayor I had the fiduciary responsibility to suspend the
    unsustainable operations.
        As I considered all my options and responsibilities, I
    sincerely believed the passage of the 2009 Omnibus Public Lands
    Act would finally resolve our transportation access problem to
    getting to Cold Bay airport. But after Secretary Jewell's
    decision in December of 2013 to not authorize the road, we
    continue to find ourselves at the mercy of our high volatile
    wind and marine conditions and topographic constraints.
        I'm also very disappointed and frustrated that the
    Secretary's decision was based on a very biased and
    scientifically flawed EIS process completed by the U.S. Fish
    and Wildlife Service. It eventually became very clear to me
    that our local knowledge of the environment did not matter to
    the Federal Government. It also became very clear to me that
    any trust responsibility for indigenous Americans for
    government-to-government relationships were just a bunch of
    fancy words.
        I'm also very frustrated that critics still continue to
    talk about other forms of marine infrastructure and vessels
    that they believe will adequately address our problems. These
    are suggestions that are not viable. We cannot mitigate the
    forces of nature in our marine environment. I have been a
    fisherman for over 60 years in this area and I know about the
    never ending challenges of the oceans, bays, vessels and the
    weather.
        I have a number of photos to show the Committee that
    illustrate some of the challenges and weather conditions and
    when to contend to dealing with marine medevacs out of King
    Cove to the Cold Bay dock.
        Here's a picture of a 125-foot crab vessel trying to get
    near the dock in Cold Bay. It was unable to do that because of
    the weather conditions. The wind was too high and the seas were
    too rough.
        [The information referred to follows:]

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        Here's a picture of the icy conditions that no one seems to
    want to put on the forefront to show you that this dock is a
    quarter of a mile from the beach and the ice pack is nearly a
    half a mile off there. If you were to put any kind of
    infrastructure in the front of that dock it would stop the flow
    of the tidal action to where that ice will remain there for a
    long period of time.
        [The information referred to follows:]

     [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        The dock is at least 20 feet high, and strapping an injured
    patient in a gurney and hoisting them up from the dock, up to
    the dock of the boat it can be as much as 25 feet.
        [The information referred to follows:]

        [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        It's always a scary situation. This is basically what we
    have to do or putting elders in a crab pot and using a crane to
    hoist them to the top of the dock is frightening.
        [The information referred to follows:]

     [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Most people don't realize that both the high winds and ice
    can prevent us from using boats or barges or large efficient
    vessels from accessing the Cold Bay dock. We must, I emphasize
    must, have this modest one lane, gravel road for
    transportation.
        I respectfully ask this Committee to support our road
    alternative and allow us the dignity and respect to have what
    most American citizens simply take for granted.
        In closing I want to say thank you, Senator Murkowski, for
    caring so much about our lives and working with conviction and
    passion in helping us to achieve this needed road to access the
    Cold Bay airport.
        I respectfully ask all the Committee members to support
    Senator Murkowski's effort to authorize this road and
    significantly enhance the quality of our lives. Our lives
    matter.
        Thank you.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Mack follows:]

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        The Chairman. Thank you, Mayor.
        Ms. Desiderio.

        STATEMENT OF DENISE DESIDERIO, POLICY DIRECTOR, NATIONAL
                      CONGRESS OF AMERICAN INDIANS

        Ms. Desiderio. Good morning, Chairman Murkowski and Ranking
    Member Cantwell. It's a pleasure to sit before you today and
    testify on behalf of the National Congress of American Indians
    (NCAI).
        This is an important issue, not just for the residents of
    King Cove, Alaska but for all of Indian Country. NCAI is in
    full support of providing a solution to the Agdaagux Tribe and
    the residents of King Cove in providing them a safe, reliable
    and consistent access to medical treatment. The reason is
    simple. NCAI views this as, first and foremost, a matter of
    public safety.
        As long standing members of the Indian Affairs Committee,
    you know full well the needs of health care in Indian Country.
    It's not unusual for tribal communities to be so isolated and
    rural as to make health care, that we take for granted here in
    DC and in other parts of the country, almost impossible for
    tribes to obtain. But even with that, the situation stands out
    in Indian Country. There's no place else in Indian Country
    where tribal members need to fly over 600 miles to receive full
    health care. There's no place else where weather conditions
    will shut down complete access to health care for tribal
    members.
        You've stated the statistics very well, but I think what I
    want to focus on is something that Governor, or Lieutenant
    Governor, I've already elected you, that the Lieutenant
    Governor brought up in that these are conditions where tribal
    members and the residents of King Cove suffer from broken
    bones, they're in childbirth, there's internal bleeding. When
    weather conditions shut down these airports they may wait hours
    or even days to receive health care. Even in Indian Country
    this is an extreme situation that we don't feel can be ignored
    and that we think has to be fixed.
        NCAI's membership has long supported road access for King
    Cove. As early as 2007 we passed a resolution supporting the
    land exchange legislation to build a road, and following that
    in 2009 Congress overwhelmingly supported that legislation.
        Unfortunately, we're still waiting for the road to be built
    in King Cove and mostly due to concerns with the disruption
    that building a road through the Izembek National Refuge would
    cause. The 2013 decision by the Secretary of the Interior to
    deny the road was based on a NEPA process that focused solely
    on the natural environment but failed to take into account the
    health and safety needs of the residents of King Cove.
        Following that decision NCAI's members spoke again. In
    March of 2014 we passed legislation again supporting land
    exchange legislation, and I want to point out that in March of
    2014 was an emergency resolution. It's not often that NCAI acts
    on resolutions at our Executive Council winter session because
    we usually pass those resolutions during our membership
    meetings. But our board, NCAI's board, felt so strongly that
    this was a resolution that was emergency in nature and national
    in scope that we passed in March 2014 a resolution supporting
    the residents and the Agdaagux Tribe of King Cove.
        Again, in 2015 we passed a subsequent resolution supporting
    the need for a road, and the reason we wanted an additional
    resolution was because we wanted our general membership to
    speak on it too. This is an issue that has been brought up by
    our board, by our members of our board from Alaska, and by our
    membership throughout Indian Country as one of an injustice
    that needs to be fixed.
        I want to make sure that the Committee understands NCAI
    does support and respect the Secretary's responsibility to
    maintain the refuge. The refuge is a diverse and natural
    habitat that does deserve the highest protections; however, the
    Aleut people were the first stewards of this land and they've
    lived on and off of these lands for over 4,000 years. They were
    here before the establishment of the refuge, and they have the
    most at stake in protecting the environment and the wildlife.
        You've mentioned the great concessions that the tribe and
    the State of Alaska have made to make this road a reality. And
    you know, 206 acres in exchange for over 60,000 acres, it's a
    great concession by the state, by the tribe. And yet, we still
    don't have a road that will provide the basic healthcare needs
    of the citizens of King Cove. I think that's all we're asking
    for here.
        I want to make sure that this Committee understands that
    NCAI is in full support of a road to King Cove and that we
    consider this a matter for the trust responsibility.
        What we're asking is the Secretary of Interior to uphold
    her trust responsibility to tribal governments and provide the
    health care that is required as part of that trust
    responsibility for the residents of King Cove.
        Thank you.
        [The prepared statement of Ms. Desiderio follows:]

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        The Chairman. Thank you. Not only do we appreciate your
    comments, but that of the full NCAI. So thank you very much for
    that.
        Della Trumble, welcome back.

        STATEMENT OF DELLA TRUMBLE, SPOKESWOMAN, AGDAAGUX TRIBAL
                   COUNCIL AND KING COVE CORPORATION

        Ms. Trumble. Thank you.
        Good morning, Senator and Chair Murkowski, Ranking Member
    Cantwell and members of the Committee. My name is Della
    Trumble. I am an Aleut. I was born and raised in King Cove, and
    I continue to live there.
        The residents of King Cove love our community. It is our
    home, and we have a special place in our hearts for you,
    Senator, for your continued support. We very much appreciate
    it.
        Today I'm speaking on behalf of all the shareholders of the
    King Cove Corporation and as a member of the Agdaagux Tribe of
    King Cove and for all other residents in King Cove. I'm also
    here speaking as a mother, an Alaskan and a citizen of the
    United States.
        I'm deeply connected to the land you know as the Izembek
    Refuge through my ancestors who've lived and fed themselves on
    this wilderness for over 4,000 years. It's a part of who we are
    today. Our culture and our respect for our natural environment
    will never allow us to damage the refuge. We were born and
    raised to only take what you need, to always have a renewable
    resource.
        I've lived this road issue now for 35 years of my life. I
    was a young lady at one time when I first came back here for
    this. I will confess to being a bit tired to keep coming back
    for this battle, but I will not stop until it is resolved.
        This is at least my 25th trip to Washington to testify,
    lobby and advocate for this road to allow for a safe,
    dependable and affordable transportation access from King Cove
    to the all-weather airport in Cold Bay. Our need for this very
    modest road connection to Cold Bay airport is essential for
    medical and health needs, for a sustainable future and just the
    piece of mind of safe transportation.
        We sincerely thought the passage of the 2009 Omnibus Public
    Lands Act was a final decision needed to authorize this road.
    The community remains stunned by Secretary Jewell's decision to
    deny us the road; however, her decision did not totally
    surprise us because when she visited King Cove in August of
    2013 she informed us that she was there to speak on behalf of
    the Izembek birds and animals which have no voice.
        In response to that comment, our Police Chief and lifelong
    resident, Robert Gould, politely told the Secretary it was his
    responsibility to speak on behalf of all King Cove residents
    and those who have lost their lives and those that continue to
    endure medical and health challenges because of the community's
    transportation access problem.
        How much more do we need to endure, particularly when there
    is such a reasonable, dependable and affordable solution to our
    transportation access problem to the Cold Bay airport?
        We desperately need the ten mile, one lane, gravel road to
    connect the two communities for us to get to the Cold Bay
    airport. This road connection will drastically improve our
    ability for emergency and routine medical and health care and
    significantly upgrade our overall quality of life. Why is this
    simple concept so difficult for some people to accept?
        Since December 23rd, 2013 when Secretary Jewell said no to
    our road, we have had 42 medevacs out of King Cove to the Cold
    Bay airport. And this is a period of over 28 months, 42
    medevacs. Thank God for the U.S. Coast Guard being available to
    help out for 16 of those medevacs when no other option could
    work.
        But we never take the help and availability of the Coast
    Guard for granted. We are very thankful for them to be able to
    help us. We know that it's not their mission or responsibility
    to risk their lives to make these heroic rescues, and trust me
    when I say, we pray that they make it to Cold Bay.
        No mother should ever have to witness their own precious
    daughter crash land at the King Cove airstrip due to our highly
    unpredictable turbulence and down drafts from the volcanic
    mountainous terrain. That picture of that young lady is my
    daughter with the blue coat.
        [The information referred to follows:]

      [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        It was the scariest few minutes of my life as I sat there
    watching the plane being pushed toward the runway, and hitting
    the runway, and it's not something any parent should ever have
    to witness or ever have to do. And there really, in my mind, is
    no reason for it. The plane was basically pushed downward by
    the wind and crashed into the runway without the landing gear
    down, as you can well see. It basically looks like someone took
    the props with the curling iron, and it was very frightening.
        Similar experiences, both from flying and on the water,
    people have continued to encounter every day, and this must
    stop. Truly there is no reason for this. We know we continue to
    live on borrowed time with our transportation access, and every
    time people get on an airplane we fear that something is going
    to happen and more people will die or be harmed.
        Please know we will never quit until we are successful in
    our quest to achieve a safe, dependable and affordable
    transportation to our solution for our residents. We know the
    only logical solution is a modest, non-invasive, one lane,
    gravel road.
        Finally, we are fortunate to have Senator Murkowski's
    commitment, common sense and passion to help us achieve this
    solution.
        On behalf of all of King Cove, Aleuts and all other
    community residents, we respectfully ask Congress to authorize
    the road and to do so without the involvement of the Department
    of Interior.
        If I may also state that a couple days ago we were at the
    Interior building, and we had a meeting over there. As you go
    in through security there's a plaque on the wall that shows
    former Secretary Udall and I pointed out to Stan, Stanley Mack,
    when you read that it basically says to protect the land, the
    waters and the wilderness. The very next line says to empower
    American Indians and Alaska natives.
        We are a part. They need to help protect us also and to
    help us work out a solution to this problem. We very much would
    appreciate it. Thank you.
        [The prepared statement of Ms. Trumble follows:]

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        The Chairman. Della, thank you.
        Twenty-five years. That is a long time to be working an
    issue.
        Commander Whiddon, welcome to the Committee.

    STATEMENT OF COMMANDER JOHN WHIDDON, UNITED STATES COAST GUARD,
                                RETIRED

        Mr. Whiddon. Thank you, Madam Chair and Ranking Member
    Cantwell.
        My name is John Whiddon. I'm a retired U.S. Coast Guard
    Commander and a former helicopter pilot living in Kodiak. I'm
    also a member of the Kodiak City Council.
        I want to digress for just a second, as the Lieutenant
    Governor did, and kind of explain why I'm here. I was at a
    recent SWAMC meeting, for those that don't know that, Southwest
    Alaska Municipal Conference, and I had an opportunity to talk
    to Rick Gifford and Mr. Mack. They were talking about the road.
        I mentioned that 37 years ago I was involved in a rescue,
    actually it was a recovery of bodies for a plane that crashed.
    And there's a reason I mention that, not because of the road
    but because 37 years later, as I'll explain in my testimony,
    there's portions of that particular flight that are still vivid
    in my mind.
        So during my 20-year Coast Guard career I spent at least
    ten years in Alaska flying in Sitka, Southeast Alaska, Kodiak
    and I flew throughout the Aleutian chain on both search and
    rescue missions and other missions for the Coast Guard. I
    became very familiar with the Cold Bay region as I had numerous
    occasions to fly in and out of Cold Bay, usually on my way to
    Dutch Harbor. So I appreciate the invitation to testify today
    before your Committee.
        This statement is my recollection of the events surrounding
    the Pen Air crash near Cold Bay that occurred on April 13th of
    1980. I need to be clear and say this statement in no way
    reflects the opinion or the position of the U.S. Coast Guard.
    I'm speaking as an individual.
        In December 1980 I was a Lieutenant and an H3 pilot
    assigned to Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak. I had accumulated
    almost 2,000 hours of helicopter time and was considered an
    experienced Alaska pilot. Two months prior on October 4th, 1980
    I participated in a rescue of 520 passengers from the sinking
    motor vessel, Prinsendam, near the home of the Lieutenant
    Governor, 120 miles offshore of Yakutat, which required a
    multi-national response.
        Up to that point in my career I had responded to several
    plane crashes in Louisiana and Alaska including one, and I'll
    mention the name familiar to you, which is Lynyrd Skynyard
    crash near Jackson, Mississippi, and we were on scene within 20
    minutes and had the survivors to a hospital within 30 minutes.
        This particular case involving the Pen Air crash near Cold
    Bay was the third plane crash that I responded to in my first
    year in Alaska. Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak received notice
    of an overdue Pen Air flight where the pilot and three
    passengers were en route from King Cove to Cold Bay on December
    13th, 1980. The report indicated that Pen Air flew to King Cove
    to medevac a seriously injured fisherman with an amputated
    foot.
        Following the overdue notice satellites picked up an
    emergency locater transmitter, or ELT, somewhere in the
    vicinity of Cold Bay. A helo was launched from Kodiak to Cold
    Bay and searched all day in a heavy snow storm but was unable
    to locate the plane crash.
        Although the ELT was still transmitting, due to the heavy
    snow and low visibility, the crew was just unable to locate the
    crash. While the ELT signal was still transmitting it was
    difficult to pinpoint most likely due to atmospherics. And it
    should be noted at that time there was no GPS. There were no
    night vision goggles. The only navigation equipment was limited
    to Loran C and VOR/DME and in most cases in Alaska visual
    navigation complemented by local knowledge.
        My crew and I were assigned to fly down to Cold Bay in a
    C130 to relieve the first helo crew and continue the search
    after they ran out of crew mission time. Upon arriving in Cold
    Bay we were briefed with the on-scene crew, loaded our gear,
    picked up a state trooper and then took off to search for the
    ELT.
        Although it was still snowing heavily the visibility had
    picked up to just under a mile. And within an hour of searching
    we were able to pinpoint the ELT and, shortly after, spotted
    the plane seven miles from the end of the runway, just seven
    miles from the end of the runway.
        We landed on the tundra, approximately 50 yards from the
    plane crash and the plane appeared to impact the ground in a
    level altitude. There was no indication of fire. The cockpit
    windows and side window were broken but the airplane was mostly
    intact. All the occupants were deceased but still sitting
    upright in their seats. There was no blood or visible trauma to
    any of the victims so their death was obviously the result of
    sudden stoppage and ground impact. The trooper directed us to
    move the bodies which proved difficult and took considerable
    time since they were literally frozen in the seated position.
    After my crew and I extracted the bodies we stacked them on the
    ramp of the helicopter. This is the part that stuck with me.
        I recall later looking back from the cockpit at the tangle
    of arms and legs all pointing in different directions, and
    that's a memory that's lasted 37 years.
        The trooper also requested we move the engine which was
    partly detached. My mechanic removed a few mount bolts, and we
    helped drag the engine to the C130 where we used the hoist to
    lift the engine up.
        Once all the victims and the engine were on board we flew
    the short flight back to Cold Bay and unloaded the bodies and
    the engine. The snow had continued to fall all day and the
    weather was forecasted to deteriorate, so we quickly refueled
    and took off for the four-hour return trip back to Kodiak.
        By the time we got to Port Heiden and I made the right turn
    to follow the river through the Aniakchak Pass to Shelikof
    Straits, it was completely dark and snowing heavily. Again, we
    had no night vision goggles at that time. We had no GPS.
        I had let my co-pilot fly so I could navigate through the
    pass. I'd flown through the Aniakchak Pass on several occasions
    and was familiar with the ground terrain and the general course
    to the west to east transit. On this flight we had to fly
    through the pass at 200 feet in zero/zero visibility, and we
    were at 50 knots just to maintain contact with the ground.
        So once we came through the Shelikof Straits after about a
    25-minute transit we set a course to Sitkinak at the south end
    of Kodiak and then up the east side of Kodiak back to the air
    station in the pitch black. The rest of the flight was
    uneventful.
        At the time of this recovery flight, and it was a recovery
    flight, not a rescue, I was unaware of any efforts to build a
    road to King Cove. But in hindsight this SAR case to recover
    the four crash victims obviously could have been avoided if
    there had been ground transportation between King Cove and Cold
    Bay.
        And the second part that stood out to me, in addition to
    the needless loss of lives, is the risk to the helo crews and
    the C130 crew, who put their lives at risk in heavy snow, high
    winds to locate the crash site and the bodies.
        Thank you for this opportunity.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Whiddon follows:]

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        The Chairman. Thank you, Commander, and again, thank you
    for your service.
        Ms. Whittington-Evans, welcome.

         STATEMENT OF NICOLE WHITTINGTON-EVANS, ALASKA REGIONAL
                    DIRECTOR, THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY

        Ms. Whittington-Evans. Good morning, Chairman Murkowski,
    Ranking Member Cantwell and members of the Committee. I am
    Nicole Whittington-Evans, Alaska Regional Director of the
    Wilderness Society. We represent more than 700 members
    nationwide including many Alaskans who care deeply about how
    the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge and Wilderness Area is
    managed.
        I have worked in the Wilderness Society's Alaska office for
    more than 18 years and have been engaged in the Izembek Refuge
    issue since 1998. I appreciate the invitation to testify before
    the Committee today and would like to start with a short
    history of this incredible place.
        In 1980, 20 years after Izembek had been designated a
    national wildlife range, Congress established the Izembek
    Refuge and Wilderness as part of the Alaska National Interest
    Lands Conservation Act to safeguard the refuge's extraordinary
    land and wildlife. At the center of the over 400,000 acre
    Izembek Refuge are two lagoons which are separated by a narrow
    wildlife corridor. The lagoons make up the ecological heart of
    the refuge and this corridor is critical for caribou, bears and
    wolf migration.
        Most of the world's population of Pacific black brant and
    Emperor geese and a significant portion of the threatened
    Steller's eider population depend on Izembek's habitat. Izembek
    Refuge also contains irreplaceable wetlands of international
    importance as recognized in 1986 as the first wetland area in
    the United States to be designated a wetland of international
    importance under the RAMSAR Convention.
        I have spent time in the Izembek Refuge, walking in the
    wilderness, and have seen the lagoons crowded with Pacific
    Black brant, geese and Steller's eider. This refuge is one of
    the most vital and extraordinary wildlife and wilderness areas
    in the world, and it must remain that way for all Americans to
    enjoy.
        In 1980 Congress designated most of the Izembek refuge as
    wilderness, the highest level of protection afforded to our
    public lands. De-designating it would be a dangerous precedent
    for public lands throughout the United States. It is
    inappropriate to build a road that would bisect the heart of
    the Izembek Refuge, fragment wildlife habitat and significantly
    diminished the value of this wilderness area. It would also
    undermine the very purpose of both the refuge and wilderness
    systems in this country.
        One of the first studies about the proposed road was the
    1985 Bristol Bay Cooperative Management Plan. The findings by
    the Fish and Wildlife Service in that plan are similar to more
    recent analyses by the agency that have found that the road
    would be incompatible with the purposes for which the refuge
    was established. When assessing a proposed road, the Fish and
    Wildlife Service has repeatedly concluded that a road and its
    construction would be incompatible and extremely damaging to
    the refuge.
        In 1998 Congress provided $37.5 million of funding to
    upgrade the local medical clinic, develop dock facilities and a
    road to a dock and purchase, ultimately, a $9 million, all-
    weather hovercraft. Thus Congress and American taxpayers have
    already provided a solution for King Cove.
        Respected individuals and organizations have expressed
    their opposition to a road. The Association of Village Council
    Presidents representing 56 Native villages in Western Alaska
    formally opposed the proposed road due to the impacts it would
    have on subsistence resources that they depend on.
        The former U.S. Indian Health Service Medical Director for
    the Eastern Aleutian tribes has said the extreme weather, ice
    and avalanche conditions experienced in the specific area make
    it inconceivable that the proposed 27-mile road could be
    passable.
        And Interior officials from the Bush, Clinton, Ford and
    Nixon Administrations have stated their opposition to the
    proposed road noting it is one of the last places in the
    country that one would ever want to build a road.
        In 2009 the Congress directed the Secretary of the Interior
    to make a determination about whether a road and land exchange
    was in the public's interest. The Fish and Wildlife Service
    conducted a thorough four-year analysis that included more than
    130 stakeholder meetings and consultation with state and local
    government and more than 70,000 comments. The Service
    ultimately rejected the proposed road and land exchange, and
    the Secretary of the Interior then reaffirmed their decision.
        In 2015 the U.S. District Court of Alaska upheld the
    Secretary's decision. And recently the Army Corps of Engineers
    issued a study of alternative transportation options for
    residents of King Cove. The analysis conducted by the Army
    Corps of Engineers confirms what the Wilderness Society, other
    conservation organizations, tribal entities and medical
    professionals, familiar with this area, have stated for
    decades. A road through the heart of fragile, congressionally-
    designated wilderness is inappropriate.
        Make no mistake, the Wilderness Society supports the needs
    of the residents of King Cove to have safe, reliable
    transportation options which can and must be achieved while
    protecting the international significant wildlife and
    wilderness values of the Izembek Refuge.
        Thank you again for the opportunity to testify before you
    today.
        [The prepared statement of Ms. Whittington-Evans follows:]

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        The Chairman. Thank you. Thank you, all.
        We will quickly turn to questions here, and again, try to
    move through them quickly as we do have a vote coming up.
        I want to ask a question of both the Lieutenant Governor
    and to you, Mayor Mack and Ms. Trumble, in terms of support
    because we have just heard from Ms. Whittington-Evans that
    there has been a history within successive administrations in
    opposition to this road, agency officials in opposition to this
    road. I recognize that sitting here in Washington, DC we are
    4,000 some odd miles from where you live and the State of
    Alaska, and oftentimes it is very easy to be opposed to
    something if you have no connection to it.
        The suggestion that the wilderness needs to be there for
    all Americans to enjoy, I think, we understand. We understand
    the principle of that, but we also recognize that something in
    concept and theory is different than those who live in the
    region, exist in the region and raise their families there. It
    has also been mentioned, and we recognize, that AVCP has come
    out in opposition to the road.
        Can you speak to the support for the road from the
    community of King Cove and what level of support we have? Then,
    Lieutenant Governor, if you can address the level of support
    that the state has for construction of this lifesaving road
    that we are talking about?
        Mr. Mack. Thank you, Senator Murkowski, Chairman.
        On behalf of the Alaska Federation of Natives, they're in
    full support of this road and resolutions that were submitted
    prior to the ruling by Secretary Jewell, that they were in
    favor of it. The leaders of the corporations in Alaska are in
    favor of this road. And of course, everyone in the Aleutians
    East Borough and both from the Bristol Bay region are also in
    favor of this road. They can't understand why we don't have it.
        The Chairman. Della, can you speak from the Tribal
    Council's perspective?
        Ms. Trumble. Thank you.
        Yes, all the tribal governments in Alaska do support this.
    We have strong support from the tribal governments in the
    region, Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association, Eastern Aleutian
    tribes that provides the health care in the region. And maybe
    to add to this, I'm also a member on the Kodiak Aleutian
    Federal Subsistence Advisory Council, and in early February we
    met, they had a statewide gathering of all the RACs as we call
    them, regional councils. We met with the AYK groups to discuss
    specifically bird allocations and looking at the potential on
    Emperor geese because there may be some hunts in 2017 that
    they'll open up for sport and subsistence.
        Nothing was ever mentioned in regard to not supporting this
    road from King Cove to Cold Bay. In fact, I've actually heard
    more personal comments directed at me that we really should
    have this road.
        The Chairman. Thank you.
        Lieutenant Governor, from the state's perspective, please?
        Mr. Mallott. Yes. The State of Alaska, the Alaska
    Legislature and the Governor of the State strongly support this
    road.
        I would think I can, with little argument, say that I know
    of no elected state official who is knowledgeable of this
    issue, who does not support it.
        Thank you.
        The Chairman. We recognize that the State of Alaska, in
    terms of its fiscal situation, is in a different place now than
    we have been for some time, and that when we build the road,
    not if we build the road, but when we build the road, there
    will be responsibility to the state, obviously, for some costs.
        Is it fair to say that this road still remains a priority,
    certainly within the Walker/Mallott Administration?
        Mr. Mallott. Absolutely.
        The Chairman. Thank you.
        Senator Cantwell.
        Senator Cantwell. Thank you, Madam Chair.
        Ms. Whittington-Evans, the proponents of the road through
    the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge have mentioned that there
    are existing roads within the refuge and that an additional
    gravel road would not have a significant impact on wildlife.
        Do you agree with this assessment of the existing road
    situation, and can you explain specific impacts you believe the
    new road would have?
        Ms. Whittington-Evans. Thank you, Senator Cantwell.
        There are roads that were developed during the second World
    War in the refuge that are outside of the designated wilderness
    area. There are no roads in the designated wilderness area.
    There are some former World War II tracks that have not been
    maintained that are not currently traveled on by vehicles. And
    so, there are no roads in the designated wilderness portion of
    the refuge.
        We believe and Fish and Wildlife Service and others have
    documented that there would be significant impacts from a road
    going through this very narrow wildlife corridor that is
    surrounded by two lagoons, Izembek and Kasegaluk lagoons to the
    north and south. The significant impacts that the Fish and
    Wildlife Service focused on in their latest analysis include
    significant impacts to Black brant, Emperor geese and Tundra
    swans, as well as brown bears. The caribou, which use the
    corridor to travel from one side of the refuge to the other,
    often spend time in the corridor during winter which is a very
    challenging time for reserves, and they certainly would be
    impacted as well with winter travel on the road.
        There has already been ATV trail expanding use coming off
    of the Northeast corner, the 17.2-mile road that goes to the
    Northeast corner of Cold Bay, and that is also something that
    the Fish and Wildlife Service documented in their most recent
    EIS. And there are a lot of concerns about the impacts to
    wetlands and the increased access by humans on these
    populations of wildlife.
        Increased access will definitely impact wildlife including
    the brown bears which are some of the densest that you will
    find anywhere in Alaska.
        There could be competition in the future between sport and
    subsistence users in the refuge as a result of this road. The
    Army Corps of Engineers, for example, in 2003 identified that
    as a potential problem for future subsistence users.
        I want to say one other thing, and that is that tens of
    millions of dollars have already been spent on this issue. As
    you mentioned earlier, there are no great alternatives, but the
    Army Corps of Engineers' most recent report indicated that a
    marine alternative would be 99 percent dependable which is the
    highest of any of the alternatives involved.
        Thank you very much.
        Senator Cantwell. When you are mentioning sport and
    subsistence competition, is that an issue you think exists
    today?
        Ms. Whittington-Evans. I am not aware that that exists
    today as a problem. I think that the wildlife populations are
    very plentiful at Izembek.
        Brant have definitely, I mean, some of these water fowl
    populations have declined over the years and that is, a lot of
    that, is due to the fact that habitat elsewhere, outside of
    Alaska, potentially, has been degraded. But there--I am not
    aware of a current problem between sport and subsistence users,
    but increased access would definitely impact these wildlife
    populations from, you know, from additional hunting going on
    and this could be a problem in the future.
        Senator Cantwell. Thank you.
        Thank you, Madam Chair.
        The Chairman.  Just to follow on Senator Cantwell's
    question.
        You are aware that the terms of this road have been a non-
    commercial use road. That is directed to you, Ms. Whittington,
    yes?
        Ms. Whittington-Evans. I am aware of that, yes. Thank you,
    Senator Murkowski. And I also understand that over time that
    type of arrangement can change as it has elsewhere in the
    state.
        The Chairman. Well, I understand that.
        When I was out in King Cove, actually with the Secretary,
    what we heard from some of the Fish and Wildlife folks was
    really quite offensive because they basically asserted that as
    soon as we do this people in King Cove will break the law.
        I am looking at it and I am thinking a people willing to
    move forward with a 300 to 1 exchange, give up their ancestral
    lands for a lifesaving road, are not going to be abusive of the
    opportunity to then access it. I would certainly like to give
    the people the benefit of the doubt, the people that have been
    protecting the environment, the animals and the waterfowl for
    generations.
        I wanted to ask a question to you, Della, about the impact
    to the community over a period of time in dealing with just the
    emotional trauma that comes with living in fear of flying. I
    was particularly struck by it when we were in the clinic and
    looking at the facilities which we have upgraded. I think the
    people of King Cove are proud of the community clinic that they
    have there and the professionals that they have. They wish they
    had a doctor, but you take what you can get. But I was struck
    in talking about the cache of prescription drugs that are
    available to them to dispense as we have in many of our small
    clinics. It is something that is stocked to a limited
    perspective. But the thing that they kept the largest supply on
    hand were anti-anxiety drugs because, I was told, some 70
    percent of the people in the community have an extreme anxiety
    of flying.
        Della, I noted in the picture that you showed where the
    plane had crashed that flew in with your daughter on it, it was
    not a bad weather day as we have been talking about with dense
    fog, the examples that Commander Whiddon mentioned. It was a
    blue sky day, and one would think that if you can see the
    approach you are going to be just fine.
        Is this fear of flying and the anxiety that has been
    created within the community of King Cove? Am I overstating or
    exaggerating in some way? Because I do not intend to be, but
    I'd like to hear from your voice whether this is something
    that, as a community, there truly is that fear.
        Ms. Trumble. Thank you, Senator.
        Yes, there it's a real fear. And those, the 70 percent, can
    be as much as 80 percent.
        What happens is when people know that they're going to have
    to travel, the first thing people do is we start watching the
    weather five days before we're scheduled to fly to figure out
    what kind of weather we're going to be looking at before we
    fly.
        Many people will go to the clinic and we have the
    dispensers that dispense medication. It's just like a candy
    machine is what it looks like, and they dispense two pills, one
    when you leave and one when you're coming back. And it's valium
    or diazepam.
        I never used to technically be afraid to fly until I saw
    that plane crash. I came out and left the other day and I hold
    the bottom of my chair and I pray those 15 minutes to Cold Bay
    and I hold my chair and I pray when I come back to King Cove.
        I've flown with people that scream, that cry, that cuss and
    pray the whole way. It's not a good experience to have to do,
    but it's the reality of what we have to do to get between these
    two communities.
        And many times, to add to that, a lot of people cannot get
    to their medical appointments because they can't get out of
    King Cove or will not fly, period, if they don't like the
    weather report. And so that has to be drawn out to the next
    month or three months, depending if it's a specialty doc. The
    fear of flying in this community is extremely real and it's
    high.
        The Chairman. Let me ask a question of you, Commander
    Whiddon and then, I am afraid, we are going to have to wrap up
    because the vote has already started.
        You are clearly an experienced pilot having flown in some
    difficult conditions. I have been told by some in the Coast
    Guard who fly out in the region that flying into King Cove is
    the least desirable job of a pilot going in and out.
        Now we talk about fear of flying. We have got to fly all
    over the State of Alaska. Why are the conditions in King Cove
    region that much worse than anywhere else that we fly in
    Alaska? Can you speak to that?
        Mr. Whiddon. Thank you, Madam Chair.
        As Mr. Mack mentioned, that area is considered the
    generator of storms. And that's where they, if you watch the
    Alaska news channel every day, you see huge sweeping lows
    coming across there and they all seem to converge in the Cold
    Bay area.
        For Coast Guard crews flying in there, just remember that
    they're only going to fly in there if commercial aviation
    cannot get in there which means it's going to be extreme
    weather or nighttime and--
        The Chairman. So just repeat that again because I think
    that this is important. They only come in when nobody else can.
        Mr. Whiddon. Exactly.
        The Chairman. So they are the last line of safety.
        Mr. Whiddon. And if I may add just one other thing. When
    you put your map up, or your chart up there, the Coast Guard
    pilots, I'm sure it's still the same, get what's called Alaska-
    qualified. When you come to Alaska you have a 90-day period to
    become Alaska-qualified which means you get to see some of the
    places. King Cove is not on the list. Never was on the list.
        So if you do fly into King Cove it might be the first time
    you ever go in there and it would be at night or in bad
    weather. And even if you've been in there once or twice during
    a three-year tour in Kodiak, you'll never go in there enough to
    know how to get in there and under adverse conditions.
        So it's always going to be extremely dangerous for any
    Coast Guard crew to go in there whether they come in from the
    Gulf side or they come in from the Cold Bay side.
        The Chairman. So the study that the Corps conducted at the
    request of the Interior Department without looking at a road
    alternative, is it correct, Mayor Mack, that no one in the
    community leadership either of the borough or tribal was
    brought in as a part or any level of consultation in that study
    that was conducted?
        Mr. Mack. Madam Chairman, yes, we have never been a part of
    any review or research in regard to information regarding the
    marine link and any other link by the Corps of Engineers or any
    other organization that did some study.
        I know there was a study done by Johns Hopkins University,
    and that study was never brought to our attention for any kind
    of input, and we've never been part of it, no.
        The Chairman. And on the Tribal Council side?
        Ms. Trumble. Yes, that's correct. We were never consulted
    at any point in time during the course of that.
        The Chairman. Yet what we have seen as an outcome of that
    report were three recommendations: a new marine craft, the
    potential for a helo base, and an alternative road, route on
    the water with a dock. All options that have been either tried
    before or studied before and have been rejected. Correct?
        Mr. Mack. That is correct.
        The Chairman. So nothing new from this?
        Mr. Mack. There has been nothing new, no.
        There are times when the ferry, Alaska State Ferry, cannot
    even get into King Cove because of weather conditions, let
    alone try to get to Cold Bay. So that marine link is totally
    out of it.
        As you can see in some of the pictures that we showed, the
    icy conditions and the wave conditions in Cold Bay would--and
    that was a hundred-foot crab boat that fished the Bering Sea
    that could not get to the dock with that patient on board.
        The Chairman. My last question.
        The Secretary has indicated that she was going to do
    something to help the people of King Cove. To your knowledge,
    to this date, have we seen anything from the Department that
    has indicated she is going to work to provide a reliable route
    to safety for the people of King Cove?
        Della?
        Ms. Trumble. Senator, we have not heard at all from the
    Secretary since I know you got the phone call in 2013 and I had
    a message on my phone in 2013. We have had no communication
    with her since then.
        The Chairman. Well, I want to thank each of you for being
    here today.
        Lieutenant Governor, I thank you for your eloquent
    statement at the beginning of the hearing that really begs an
    Administration to listen to the people.
        We do have a responsibility to the land. We recognize that.
    We have a responsibility for the animals and the birds that fly
    over our land, but we also have a responsibility to our people.
    Oftentimes when I think about endangered species I would agree
    with your suggestion that sometimes the most vulnerable of the
    species is man. And so recognizing our responsibility to one
    another is something that must be at the forefront.
        Know that what you have given the Committee today through
    your testimony, your words, your voice to the people, is
    greatly appreciated. Know that I stand with you in this long,
    long fight and will stand with you until we have addressed the
    health and the safety of the fine people of King Cove and
    within the region.
        Thank you for your advocacy and thank you for appearing
    before the Committee.
        With that, we stand adjourned.
        [Whereupon, at 10:46 a.m. the hearing was adjourned.]

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